The Writings of Darius Mitteer Ratcliff: Including History of Naples Baptist Church, Naples, Ontario County, New York

By Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

The poetry in this collection was written by Darius Mitteer Ratcliff and included in letters written to his daughter, Elizabeth Louise Ratcliff Downs, during the 1940s. His writing reflects his total commitment to Christ in every season of life and his love of his family, friends, and the churches and the town that he devoted his life to.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512789300

Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

Darius Ratcliff prepared for the ministry by studying at Colgate University and Seminary in Hamilton, New York, graduating in 1912 Around 1930 he accepted a call to pastor Naples Baptist Church, and the Bristol Springs Free Church in Naples, New York. He pastored both churches for about 27 years.

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Copyright © 2017 Compiled by Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier.

Interior image credit: Personal collection of Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-8931-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8932-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8930-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017908541

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/01/2017

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the memory of my grandparents, Darius Mitteer Ratcliff (1886 – 1987) and Ethel Lepine Fulton Ratcliff (1886 – 1974) and to my husband, Allen Mark Johanningmeier, for his encouragement and loving support that made this book possible.

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Image Sources

Family

The Day Betty Was Born, November 8, 1915, Scriba, New York

A Prayer for Betty

A Prayer for Harry

To My Valentine

Dreams

Last Night I Sat Dreaming

Sitting at the Table

Congratulations to Richard Ratcliff (with a White Bible)

People

Marjory Dear

To Rosemary

For the Jones Family of Bristol Springs

Miss Vermilye

A Welcome to Rev. and Mrs. Frank Sperduto – March 4, 1943

Holidays

My Easter Message, 1943

My Easter Prayer, 1943

Mother’s Day

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving Hymn

A Christmas Message

A Christmas Wish

Christmas Meditations

Christmas Message

This Joy of which the Angel Spoke

When Christmas Comes

Christmas 1943

Christian Message

The Time Is Now

Love

Come

Dead to the World

I Would See the Savior

The Rendezvous

The Measure of a Man

The Valley Road and the Mountain Path

The Victory

Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself

The War Is O’er

The Mother’s Meditations

The Garden of the Lord

Worship Talks

Queen Esther Said

The Riches of Christ

I’ll Win the Crown, Beyond the Cross

I Weep

Only One Way

My Pathway

The Riddle

My Heart Is Turning

I Wonder

Now I Dream of Heaven

At Church

Down Where the River Flows

Moonlight Devotional

New York

Home

June Evening

Canandaigua Lake I

Canandaigua Lake II

Trip to Grandmother’s I, Fall 1942

Trip to Grandmother’s II, Fall 1942

The Storm

The Song of Naples

Morning on the Farm

History of Naples Baptist Church

History of Naples Baptist Church

About the Author

Preface

The poetry in this collection was written by Darius Mitteer Ratcliff and was included in letters written to his daughter and my mother, Elizabeth Louise Ratcliff Downs, aka Betty Ratcliff Downs, during the 1940s. His writing reflects his total commitment to Christ in every season of life and his love of his family, friends, and the churches and the town that he devoted his life to.

Darius Mitteer Ratcliff was born near Ferndale, Sullivan County, New York, on October 20, 1886. He was the second child of Charles Benton and Louise Mitteer Ratcliff. When he was about a year old, his family moved to a farm near Hurleyville, New York. He attended high school in the nearby village of Liberty, graduating in 1905. During his high school years, thanks to the influence of his mother, grandmother, and aunt, Darius grew in his relationship with Christ and decided that full-time ministry was his life’s work. After his mother died, he was told that after his birth his mother had remarked, This one will be a minister.

Darius Mitteer Ratcliff prepared for the ministry by studying at Colgate University and Seminary in Hamilton, New York, graduating around 1912. He did some pastoral work in the areas of Plymouth and Lebanon, New York. He was married to Ethel Fulton of New York, New York, by the Baptist minister in Oneonta, New York, on October 31, 1914. His first full-time pastorate was in Scriba, New York, where he was pastor of Scriba Baptist Church. He went on to pastor in the towns of Busti, Gowanda, and Addison, New York, and then in Harrison Valley, Pennsylvania. Around 1930 he accepted a call to pastor First Baptist Church, aka Naples Baptist Church, and the Bristol Springs Free Church in Naples, New York. He pastored both churches for about twenty-seven years.

Darius Ratcliff was married to Ethel Lepine Fulton for sixty years. Ethel Ratcliff passed away in February 1974. Darius Mitteer Ratcliff died April 29, 1987, at one hundred years of age. Darius and Ethel Ratcliff are buried in Rose Ridge Cemetery, Naples, Ontario County, New York.

The following things were said of Darius Ratcliff.

Rev. Ratcliff is a consecrated, broadminded, and dedicated minister of the gospel (New Pastor at Addison, The Rev. D. M. Ratcliff of Gowanda Assumes Duties in Baptist Church, The Evening Leader [Cornell, New York] 10, Monday, March 26, 1923).

In paying tribute to the Rev. Ratcliff, he [O. Roger Killian] said that many Naples people have been ‘recipients of his optimism’ and he has ‘brought comfort in times of sorrow and hope in times of trouble’ ("Naples Church Honors Pastor, Wife, Rochester Democrat, December 1954).

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06 June 2017

Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

Image Sources

Front cover: Darius Mitteer Ratcliff, Hamilton, New York, 1912. Personal collection of Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

Back cover: Darius Mitteer Ratcliff, Addison, New York, 1924. Personal collection of Betty Jo Downs Johanningmeier

Image 1: Darius and Ethel Ratcliff with Elizabeth Betty